From time to time I get a request to match a photo of a dog for a project. I had one come in this week for a video production that is looking to film in the Philadelphia area at the end of March. As you can see from the photo it is mixed breed. If you know of a dog within a 6hr drive of Philly who looks similar to this one please send me an email Dawn@PawsitivelyFamousAnimalActors.com

DOGS 101 is back for another season and we are very excited to have received our preliminary breed list last week. Looks like we have a great line up of breeds to film for this season. I sent out a casting call last week through Facebook and today I posted it to our Yahoo group. So now the fun begins! I am starting to get emails and phone calls inquiring about what it takes for a dog to be selected to be on the show. So I figured now was a good time to address many of these questions here on our blog.

The most frequently asked question I receive after sending out a casting call for DOGS 101 is "What would my dog have to do?" Well nothing too hard for an obedience trained dog. If you have watched the show you have seen the part where they use bullet points to illustrate training, grooming, lifestyle and exercise requirements. This is where you will see the dogs that we have selected to do the show. The dog must be able to stay for at least 30 seconds.

We prefer that they stand but sitting or lying down will work as well. The main thing is they cannot take a step or move out of position for about thirty to forty seconds.

After we get the main shot everything else that happens for the next few minutes is gravy. The director usually will ask...so do they do any tricks?

Tricks are not mandatory just an added bonus.

Here is Miss Maserati a talented Black and Tan Coonhound taking a bow.

So we usually let the owner show off the dogs tricks and special skills for 5 or 10 minutes.

Then we bring in toys for the dogs to play with...

Sometimes owners bring in their own props. The owner of this dog wanted to show us the dog was trained to pull a cart.

Dogs must be in show coat to be considered. We cannot use them if they are clipped down.It is important to me to present the best looking example of the breed that I can. Many of the dogs that have come into do the show were the number one dog in their breed.

It was an honor for me to meet and have Rufus the all time world champion Bull Terrier come into the studio last season to represent his breed. What an amazing dog. I was thrilled when his owners said they were available to bring him. He is really something special. I had wanted to meet him for years because I must confess that I have always wanted to have a bull terrrier in my home. And after meeting Rufus I know that it is a dog that someday will be hanging out on my couch. I might be 60yrs old before one comes into my life but that's fine.

Our ideal candidate is a champion show dog 2- 4yrs old with obedience title. Not all of the dogs that I have booked have had titles but those are some of the things I look for when I receive submissions.

If there is a size difference between males and females we like to have one of each for comparison.

If the breed has different coats we try to bring in one of each variety.

The Papillons have two different types of ears so we brought in both.

Obedince training comes in hand when we set up shots of dogs together like we did here...

We enjoy showing a variety of coat coloration.

The cords on this adult dog took years to create. So when possible we try to show what the breed looks like as a puppy.